To Process, Or Not To Process: That is the Question

Tags

CT Editorial Photographer, CT Fashion Photographer, CT Headshot Photographer, Hensel Lighting, Nikon, Phottix Luna Beauty Dish, Retouching, Totally Rad Actions, Totally Rad Actions Pro Retouch V.2

Hi and welcome back.

I pulled a few images from my catalog and decided to try some creative retouching.  I usually don’t do or go this far in retouching but wanted to try something different with this image.

Some retouching questions I’m asked are: How do you retouch?  What software do you use?  How far should I go?  These are tricky questions to answer as everyone’s needs are different.

Here, I’ll do a fashion retouch and simple retouch.

Gear: Nikon D3, 105 f/2 DC

Lighting: Hensel Integra 500 with Phottix Luna Beauty Dish, both sides were flagged with black subtractive panels.

Here is the image as it was converted from RAW to Tiff.

Here’s the final.  I did a porcelain skin and toned retouch to see how it would look.  I went much farther than I usually do but liked the end result.

After removing pimples, blemishes, and stray hairs and clothing fibers in Photoshop using the healing brush and clone stamp, I followed this recipe:

Software: Totally Rad Actions Portrait Retouch V2

Foundation Lite twice

Iris Lightener

Luscious Lips

Then I went to Totally Rad, Rad Lab and ran Blueberry Cobbler Twice for this blue toned look and final:

I liked this look on my model Sandra, but then wanted something less toned and more natural.

For this shot, taken under the same lighting setup as above, I wanted a slightly warm tone and natural look.

Here’s the RAW to Tiff conversion:

Straight out of the camera it looks pretty good.  I cleaned it in Photoshop and then went to the action palette.

For the final, I used Totally Rad Actions:

Foundation lite once for the face and neck

Luscious Lips

Then on to Totally Rad, Rad Lab where I used Lux Soft at 50% to brighten and give a warm toned to the final.

The second retouch is more my style as it still has that air of realism but great color tone and softness.

If you are looking for an easy to use retouching software, look no further than Totally Rad.

Here’s my coupon code for 15% off any Totally Rad product: 1434rhstudios

Thanks for stopping by.  Retouching, alas, is in the eye of the beholder.

Till next time, happy retouching!